1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates in general to content addressable memory, and more specifically to content addressable memory with error detection.
2. Description of the Related Art
As consumers demand smaller processing devices, the integrated circuits within the devices also must shrink. As the size of the semiconductor memory devices decreases, the bit cell area also decreases, causing an increase in the possibility of soft error rate (SER) induced failures. Soft errors can occur, for example, when external energy (such as energy due to alpha particle bombardment) is imparted onto the circuit, causing bit values in a memory, such as content addressable memory (CAM), to change. These soft errors may result in multiple hit errors. Therefore, as CAM geometries continue to shrink, error detection becomes increasingly important. Additionally, it is important to reduce power consumed by error detection so that portable devices can operate for longer time periods between battery recharges.